For me it's a draw between the upside down Stone Tower Temple from Majora's Mask and the City in the Sky from Twilight Princess due to how eerie and "uncomfortable" i feel while travelling through both locations. I almost have a weird feeling that "someone" is watching me at all times and that for some reason i should not be there. I guess i attribute the feeling to the music and atmosphere across both dungeons.
The flowers make me uneasy, too. I think it's because they give depth to the water. With most other water we can imagine that it's only something like five feet deep. The ground can be just under our feet. But with the flowers, we can see that they go so deep that we can't see where the stems end, and that's just terrifying. Not to mention, who knows what's swimming around just under the petals.
i think their sheer size also come into play here on why we are creeped out by them but find it hard to say brain is probably subconsciously thinking that they look like they could trap a whole human inside them if they were to close while you were swimming above
The flowers being both at Skull Lake, and at the Horse God's Lake may be symbolic of resurrection. Perhaps the flowers themselves grow in places where raising the dead is possible. I mean, the Horse God can return dead horses, so maybe there's something to do with these spots and these flowers. Their presence allowing the Stal enemies to be active day or night.
Ooh that’s a cool idea which also made me think of a dark thought The flowers trap the souls of hyruls citizens in the stems and pedals Each time someone is killed their soul makes it grow bigger Or The flowers show how many battles between the hero and evil there was or are left and the reason it’s at where the horse god is is showing how many horses the hero and evil being has ridden in the past lives and battles
Something I’ve been wondering after a recent play session: do they only pop up if you’re still for a while? I was traveling through the Depths in a vehicle I built and noticed they didn’t spawn. They only popped up twice when I was mostly still on wasn’t moving far beyond a small area.
@@iLLiCiT_XL No, they pop up whenever. If you're travelling by foot (as I often do, just to collect resources) they'll show up all the time, even when you're sprinting lol
In BOTW Skull Lake is the spot where we first encountered Kilton. The strange man who loves monsters. While in TOTK we fine that Skull Lake is full of dead monsters that resurrect when the Hero is near, both in the cave and the Depths. Perhaps Kilton sensed these slain monsters and decided this was the logical spot to build his shop and capture the magic needed to transport his shop from location to location as needed to peddle his monsterous wears.
1:58 Yes! Thank you! Seeing the stems makes it feel like an abyss (I fear the ocean and deep water), but worse of all is anything in the water. And a bunch of flowers under the water with nothing visible beneath freaks me out. Even in Starfield, I get freaked out by the giant pool of water in that one city, even though I can see the bottom. Played too many games with sharks or piranhas. and such in the water
I also would have seen a connection between both Because of the flowers, but I think it is not divinity or something that connects both lakes, but it rather is Revival. I mean what we can see at both lakes is a Horse God that can Reanimate Horses and an underground Cave and a Chasm which have tons of undead Monsters.
This is what I love about these two games, the designers of these locations put in these strange locations to get us thinking, guessing, theorizing, Talking
I'm sorry, I'm writing through a translator. Maybe it has to do with the temple of Water from Skyward Sword? Underneath it, too, was a gloomy dungeon filled with dead bokoblins and poisonous water. Then these flowers could have been lotuses from the upper floors of the temple, which were soaked in poison from the lower floors and mutated.
Those strange flowers could also be related to the afterlife. as we know the horse God brings back dead horses. However her flower is also the same shade of purple or at least a Similar color.... Perhaps it is those flowers that are bringing back the undead creatures there.
@@chrislevack405 Apparently in Japan Malania is referred to as a _she_ and in fact there's evidence which suggests she is none other than _Malon_ from Ocarina of Time after she passed away and was transformed into a horse deity to forever watch over horses just as she loved doing in her human life. Zelda channel NintendoBlackCrisis did a video 3 years ago addressing the evidence found in the japanese version of Breath of the Wild which suggests "Malania" to be a female deity based on the pronouns used in the original japanese version.
@@javiervasquez625 Zelda wiki says he's male. Also... wouldn't it be Malonya if it was in reference to Malon? I think it's a real loose theory you're going off of.
@@chrislevack405 The Zelda wiki is following what the _english_ translation of the game says which is nothing new as they did the same thing with Twilight Princess by saying the 6 Sages tutored Zelda when in fact it was *Auru* who tutored her according to the original japanese version of the game. According to the japanese version of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Wild Malanya is female, is named _Malon_ and might in fact be the same character reincarnated as a horse godess to forever watch over the horses of Hyrule. All this information is addressed in NintendoBlackCrisis's video _"Breath of the Wild: The Horse God MYSTERY - Finally Solved?"_ You can watch it here: th-cam.com/video/ILI3F0P1KpE/w-d-xo.htmlsi=uEisPRx-mqV1EggJ
Hey Hyrule Gamer, there is another spot with deep water and foliage in it, it used to The Ridgelands Tower location, the one with the electric wizzrobes.
Skull lake is a location that has ALWAYS made me feel kinda uneasy. The absurdly deep water, the flowers giving you a visual indicator of just HOW deep it is, the bone colored rock, the bizarre and almost unnatural formation of the land and rocks in the area, *(not even including the weirdly perfect skull formation, the outcropping around the place is also a bit bizarre for where its located. Plus the weird, tall spire on one eye that now has a cave in it just seems so unlikely to naturally form, let alone it forming right next to a chasm into a place in the depths cut off from literally everywhere else down there)* , the graveyards worth of bones under the lake TWICE over, the fact that there's diurnal stal enemies under the lake which arent normally possible. Everything about skull lake is just... Weird. Off. That weirdness is also enforced to an extent by the fact that you first meet kilton, one of the more bizarre characters in the game (who seemingly avoids drawing attention to himself in the first game) here.
I'd say the flowers are a symbol of either death, or life after death, or the circle of life and death - given their only other location is the Horse God, which is also either a location of life, death, or life after death - given he resurrects horses when they die. The stal creatures down there are also resurrected, which makes it even more likely.
I’m replaying TOTK and noticed something odd. The texture of bone-like rock appears in an additional location in this game, besides Skull Lake, the Breach of Demise, and the Lake of the Horse God. It’s found in the underground tunnel leading down to where Ganon was sealed away by King Rauru and the other Sages. Where Link and Zelda come across him in the game’s opening.
If the Breach of Demise was where the Demon Army rose, then perhaps skull lake is where the Demon Army fell. The submerged flowers serve as a barrier between the realms of the living and the dead, which is why the Horse God also has them in their lake. Since he deals in the business of resurrecting horses, the flowers act as a barrier to prevent unwanted souls from escaping whenever the Horse God plucks a horse from the afterlife. The fact that a ton of Hylian soldier spirits exist down in the depths might suggest they were casualties of the final push to rid Hyrule of the Demon Army, and were unable to return to Hylia due to the entrances to the depths being sealed shut with the 'barrier flowers' that prevent the passage of spirits. As for the 'Goddess of the Depths', they were overthrown and destroyed when the Demon Army came through, from either below the Depths, or through a hole in the spirit realm. The Depths perhaps served as the old route to the afterlife, before the Demon army came to destroy everything. But with the Goddess of the Depths broken, there were no one to lead lost souls to the afterlife, hence why they need the hero's help. Who know what the future consequences will be, now that the Depths and the Surface are linked...
I love those “bone-like” rocks, they seem to have the same sort of erosion on them as things decayed by gloom The Master Sword, decayed weapons, even a lot of rock beneath Hyrule Castle is eroded in the same way, especially in the prologue tunnels
I think the connection between the two is that they’re both related to death. The Horse God has the power to resuscitate your horse and Skull Lake maybe contains some of the power of resuscitation but is corrupted by malice/gloom so the monsters don’t really fully come back from the dead, unlike the horses.
For me, the flowers THEMSELVES dont make me uneasy... Its the fact that they give the lake a LOT of depth that you dont have in other bodies of water. Though, more importantly, seeing the depth of the pool and the flowers prompted me to drop something in like a metal item in botw (the experiment was tried again in TOTK, but with just the biggest sinking thing i could find). What bothers me is... They never stopped sinking from what i could see. Meaning the lake is REALLY deep. Heck, maybe even bottomless. Granted, the flowers make that admittedly unlikely, but its a fantasy world. Any number of things could be going on. And its never outright DIS-proven that it's bottomless, as even with the depths, the generation rule of bodies of water being reflected by solid walls means you still can't be sure, as theres no way to know if that wall is hollow or not if theres no way inside. And the fact that flowers grew down there also implies that the lake is fully capable of supporting life... Which makes it possible that those flowers arent the only thing IN the lake. In summary: flowers dont scare me, but they made me realize how absurdly deep skull lake is, and THAT did scare me.
I have so much fun with TOTK. Hopefully, as time goes on, it will get the love and appreciation it deserves like The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword.
Looking at polls and stuff, I think most enjoy TotK. It's just a very loud, vocal minority who don't. TotK was great, I liked it more than BotW and any other Zelda game TBH
Same! I love this game to death. I'm in my third playthrough as well, not a 100% but a redo of the story experience done a little out of order. And I definitely plan on restarting it for a fourth playthrough when I'm done.
A little late to this video, but I thought I'd drop in a little paranormal investigator info (stay with me lol) Lots of investigators believe that areas with large amounts of limestone will amp up paranormal activity ten-fold. Maybe the "bone" rock is a signal for heavy "paranormal/spiritual" activity in a zelda location? The resurrecting of horses and reanimated bones, as others have said. Also, for the breach of demise, that's a reference to where the literal DEMON King emerged. Just tossing out my thoughts
I believe that the skull lake was a dumping ground of remains,so many bones and skeletons like that, it definitely seems like some sort of ancient dumping ground
Maybe you're onto something! Remember, Spectacle Rock keeps recurring in Zelda games, but it keeps moving around. And the "Eyes" of Skull Lake kinda look like the "Spectacles" of Spectacle Rock, no? What if this was actually a recurring geologic formation that just occurs when there's big Malice/Gloom bursts/Eruptions/Events? (That perhaps are able to more easily channel negative energy?) I can think of two directly tied to Gloom/Ganon off the top of my head, with the Original LoZ's Final Dungeon, and the second being OoT. And the second being Death Mountain in OoT. Those weird clouds around the mountain before you beat the Fire Temple I strongly feel have been retconned into being Malice or Gloom. We do see that big ol flume under the castle in TotK, so perhaps after time erodes that away, it will leave behind a couple identifiable columns?
I would have made it into a mini dungeon with the reward been some extra Lore regarding the origin of the Depths and a cool armor from ancient Zonai times. I feel it was a wasted opportunity for Nintendo not to capitalize on all the cool content the Depths could (and should) have offered.
@@javiervasquez625yes! There’s already a bunch of cool things in the Depths but I’d love to have a full-on spooky dungeon in there with a good helping of lore (does the Spirit Temple count?)
@@indigostudio2245 Lol true on the "Spirit Temple" which felt more like an open hall with "stuff" you had to do rather than a full fledged dungeon with puzzles and a boss to fight near the end. I just wish Nintendo had capitalized on the open environments the Depths provided to create truly creative and inmersive dungeons for players to explore in-depth. So much wasted potential...
i think that the house of bones could possibly just some ancient zonai ritual or burial site, and that the flowers are for whichever reason a semi-magical species (like silent princesses) attracted by or associated with death. with that many dead bodies over the centuries, it would make sense for these flowers to bloom in the water. and after all, the horse god is also associated with death and rebirth.
Skull lake? The spot where Biggoron grave is. I mean it is the location where you find the biggoron sword in the depths. Shoot, it's a good spot. [edit] Been thinking about the Breach Demise is actually below in the depths. Why? Well, OoT took place before the great flood and that was WW setup the story of the Kokiri of spread across the entire sea to regrow the lands of Hyrule. In doing that the old, old Hyrule buried in the depths and that is with TP and SS all happening before the flood. Ero true breach is down underground.
this video was interesting just to learn how many people find the big flowers unsettling! ive always thought they were super tranquil and beautiful, so this is an interesting new perspective to learn of lol.
The flowers remind me of those left at a cemetery. As if to say the lake itself wants us to remember and honor remember something here. Maybe that is why its so full of the twisted bones of monsters, because the have forgotten something lost to time.
God this video is gonna give me the willies. Can’t help it with dead things. Great vid regardless. I am curious if the giant Death Mountain cave bones are Dodongo bones.
It's definitely deep within us to simply revolt against the idea of dead things around us, but it's richly fascinating at the same time. There's a books series I like involving reanimated corpses, and there's one point where a cryptic letter is sent back to base from a maritime rescue mission documenting their travels in chronological order - it includes the lines, "...dead things in the woods... dead things in the water." Those lines haunt me because even having read like 4,500 pages of this fictional world, I still have no more context than you do having read this comment. Human bodies are definitely in play. Other than that, I'm horrifyingly baffled. And personally, my money is on the Death Mountain bones being a gargantuan dragon with a body like Volvagia or the Wilds-era chums.
This reminds me of how excited I was to visit the Breach of Demise in TotK after discovering the depths for the first time. I wasn't expecting anything crazy, but I was hoping there would at least be some sort of reference under it. Perhaps the Sword of Demise in a chest? But yeah as far as I could tell there wasn't anything all that interesting, same as on the surface
The flowers remind me of the flower in the swamp temple from Majora's mask. That's why it scares me. Last time I touched one in human form, it scared the heck out of me
Perhaps the flowers are a reference to the 1918 short story “The Spider’s Thread” by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, as was the aesthetic and layout of the Ancient Cistern in Skyward Sword.
I believe that the flowers and the rocks around the horse god in botw and in skull lake is related to death/rebirth since the horse god Malanya can bring back ur horses if they have died.
honestly? I just love the flowers, I wish I could dive down and swim amongst them. I was so disappointed that we didn't get underwater swimming in TOTK...
Hey man. Just wanted to express that your zelda content is some of my fav on TH-cam. And appreciate the ideas and such you bring to the subject. Keep going man! You make people's days brighter and that's priceless 👍
My theory on the flowers relates to reanimation of the dead. Skull lake being the only place stall enemies are animate at all times and the horse god being able to bring back lost horses
More evidence to the breath-of-the-wild-comes-right-after-skyward-sword-and-before-the-minish-cap theory!!!! I'm a firm believer in that theory, I even came up with it independently and didn't post it online, it was just headcanon, but then other people were talking about the same idea it really makes a lot of sense
I was thinking that maybe due to the shape, flowers, and closeness to the Fountain of Strength, ancient Hylians worshipped here, doing ritualistic sacrifices, and explaining all the bones. If it's sacred, that also explains the Yiga Shrine
Maybe the flowers in botw at skull lake are from the water temple in Skyward sword which is the same temple the demon/gloom bokoblins came from climbing up the rope
I've always had interest in anything to do with Demise and his invasion because cmon man the route of all evil in the franchise is bound to be an interesting topic
What if it was an ancient dumping ground for dead monsters, like the bone eaters well in inuyasha? Hyruleans from generations ago saw a skull shaped lake and decided to throw dead monsters in it. It might also explain the flowers, the monster extract appears to have a similar color, the monster remains becoming fertilizer could have caused mutations in the waters plant life.
I still feel like we need a ToTK DLC that explains in detail what happened to the Sheikah technology, what happened to the Zonai, what happened to Skyloft, you would think there would be some ruins at least, what happened to the Loftwings you’d think there would be documented recordings and skeletal remains, more about the Great Skeletons, the remaining residents of Skyloft, did they evolve into the Zonai (thats my theory), more about different Hyrulean and other external species, such as the Loftwings, Zonai, Twiligh, those moles in SS (I think they were called Molekins), and the other species in SS (cant remember their names
i think the flowers have something to do with death considering that they are not only at skull lake but also at the horse god and the horse god can bring horses back from the dead. This means that maybe these flowers have to do with death or even house the souls of the dead.
Doesn't help that the Horse God moved his flower from near the Highland Stable to around Bloodleaf Lake in the time between Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.
Surprised you didn’t notice/mention the second skull in the land with pools of water for eyes just north east of skull lake. It’s much less clean looking visually, it almost looks like someone showed a 5 year old a picture of skull lake and got them to draw it. But it’s unmistakeably a skull too, to me in has Boko skull vibes particularly, but most interestingly it’s only a stones throw away from the actual skull lake
I feel like there is less like "speculation" posts from TOTK than I was expecting, your channel has done some thankfully but I was waiting for my subbed channels to post a lot more after the game came out and it didn't really happen.
Does anyone else see a similarity in that skull on the ground in comparison to the head of that unknown figure statue that stands down under in the underground? 👀
with how unnerving the flowers are, I still feel like its a missed opportunity to not put some kind of acquatic boss there. its quite possible this location is a remenant of early development imo. some other story the devs wanted to tell but was cut from botw. perhaps a otherworldly dungeon location. (but thats pure specilation with no evidence)
It could be a reference to Skyward Sword's Ancient Cistern: Water-flowers with connection to the divine; dead things below; close by the spring of power which is a reference to Skyward Sword's Skyview Spring, which was also near the Ancient Cistern. What if the Cistern broke down into skull lake?
A reference possibly, the location itself being the same doesn’t match up though, the ancient cistern is somewhere southeast from the middle of hyrule.
As another person here in the comments said, there is a tie with the large flowers and reanimating the dead. The horse god, who in my head canon is the spirit of Malon, can resurrect dead horses. And skull lake as resurrected enemies. However you make a point that possibly its symbolic of the demons Demise led. But then, why are the flowers around the horse god? Is it possible that the horse god may be a demon as well? I say this because the recommended video after thia was about Bongo Bongo, the shadow temple boss from Oot... who has detached hands... like the horse god... why a demon would want to bring horses back from the dead, I don't know. Which I why I still lean towards the horse god being Malon. Twilight Princess already hinted at her spirit still around by adding her singing to the hyrule field night music, so its most likely she's still waiting for her knight from beyond the moon to come and take her away. Which is also why Epona's song plays around the horse god. This was probs too long winded for anyone to read and I'm sorry 😅. If you did though, thanks. I'll shut up now.
Ah yes. An HG video to make my lazy sunday...that much lazier. Btw, I'm playing through TP for the first time and arbiters grounds is hands down my favorite dungeon
@HyruleGamer absolutely am! Hey dude, I'm not sure if you've seen it or not but there's this creator here on TH-cam who made a FANTASTIC story on the hero of time using a lot of theory and lore from the community. Whenever you have a moment check out the entire series. Theres 5 episodes so far. Here's the link to the first one. Maybe shine a spotlight on him? Dude, you'll freaking love it. th-cam.com/video/eKDh-UZXMEU/w-d-xo.htmlsi=6tmRqoA0TqEtakT4
@HyruleGamer definitely am! You made me go out and get it lol! Hey dude, so there's a short series based on the hero of time called "hero's purpose"....check it out. Maybe give the creator a little spotlight? Not sure if you've given it a watch but I HIGHLY suggest you do. 5 episodes. About 20-40 minutes each
I think they missed an opportunity of reviewing the "torture chambers below Kakariko" concept using the depths. Akkala House Of Bones is too far from Kakariko to be related
my theory is that those flowers are connected to death or bringing back from the dead. What is the purpose of the horse god in BotW? It's to bring your horses... back from the dead. At skull lake, there are those same flowers. There are creatures that refuse to die. That's just a theory. A game theory!
well its not much but since the fierce diety mask is found there what if its the original location of majora's mask, anything that follows the theme of fallen fourth sister of the tetra-force or Majora's mask or death is often surrounded by the color purple, just like the 3 sisters din, farore, and nayru are with red, blue, and green respectively, as hylia is yellow or white, or and this is my second theory about it, its where Majora ( whome ive dubbed the 4th sisters name) was sealed and during the battle to seal her away rather than kill her the fierce diety perished or badly wounded and whos pain was sealed to a mask before his soul reincarnated into link, this would explain where demise got his power from it was stolen from the majora herself do with this what you will its half baked theory of mine and i have so much more.
Im the only one that thinks that the rock pilar looks similar to the one below hirule castle? My teory is that a previous demon king surged from there and the flowers are a remain of the gloom. (srry for bad english)
I don't like how you say you're making stuff up, but it is a fact that the devs were IMPLYING something by having them always alive there. How come people can do it with darksouls bit discredit with zelda. That's that content that's actually interesting
I think we're reading too much into Botw and Totk. Nintendo didn't care about a timeline they only made one because people kept asking for it if anything maybe skyward sword is connected to the botw games but I don't believe that seeing as the triforce is missing in the botw games in a physical form and we have secret stones taking their place. My opinion is that this is a Steel Ball Run type situation a new universe seperate from what came before with call backs to previous works being just fan service like the Deku tree is a new Deku tree, the temple of time doesn't match up because it's not the same the Zonai being essentially the same as the Interlopers and picori in that they are ancient races highly skilled with technology and magic etc.
Did you say "drop a cheeky wee like, down below. That would be Hylian appreciated"? If so great Pun. If not. Feel free to use it. Edit. Just put captions on. And you did.
What's your favourite odd location in Zelda?
For me it's a draw between the upside down Stone Tower Temple from Majora's Mask and the City in the Sky from Twilight Princess due to how eerie and "uncomfortable" i feel while travelling through both locations. I almost have a weird feeling that "someone" is watching me at all times and that for some reason i should not be there. I guess i attribute the feeling to the music and atmosphere across both dungeons.
Please do a video about the Cave of Ordeals
Upside-down stone temple is so eerie.
The depths.
Try crawling around under the skull lake in the depths. That's where you'll find the Biggorn Sword.
The flowers make me uneasy, too. I think it's because they give depth to the water. With most other water we can imagine that it's only something like five feet deep. The ground can be just under our feet. But with the flowers, we can see that they go so deep that we can't see where the stems end, and that's just terrifying. Not to mention, who knows what's swimming around just under the petals.
i think their sheer size also come into play here on why we are creeped out by them but find it hard to say
brain is probably subconsciously thinking that they look like they could trap a whole human inside them if they were to close while you were swimming above
😂 Glad to know I wasn't the only one creeped out by big flowers.
Damn I think the flowers look pretty
I also think that the fact that they are vastly disproportionate and large makes me think that they would eat me or somthing
Honestly, seeing as we cannot see the actual depths of our oceans. That sight can be those feelings. An abyss to the dark.
The flowers being both at Skull Lake, and at the Horse God's Lake may be symbolic of resurrection. Perhaps the flowers themselves grow in places where raising the dead is possible. I mean, the Horse God can return dead horses, so maybe there's something to do with these spots and these flowers. Their presence allowing the Stal enemies to be active day or night.
exactly what I was thinking!
Omg you read my mind lmao thanks for saying it
Ooh that’s a cool idea which also made me think of a dark thought
The flowers trap the souls of hyruls citizens in the stems and pedals
Each time someone is killed their soul makes it grow bigger
Or
The flowers show how many battles between the hero and evil there was or are left and the reason it’s at where the horse god is is showing how many horses the hero and evil being has ridden in the past lives and battles
I think that it is pretty obvious that stal enemies are up at all hours in the Depths because it is essentially "night" all the time there.
Something I’ve been wondering after a recent play session: do they only pop up if you’re still for a while? I was traveling through the Depths in a vehicle I built and noticed they didn’t spawn. They only popped up twice when I was mostly still on wasn’t moving far beyond a small area.
@@iLLiCiT_XL No, they pop up whenever. If you're travelling by foot (as I often do, just to collect resources) they'll show up all the time, even when you're sprinting lol
In BOTW Skull Lake is the spot where we first encountered Kilton. The strange man who loves monsters. While in TOTK we fine that Skull Lake is full of dead monsters that resurrect when the Hero is near, both in the cave and the Depths. Perhaps Kilton sensed these slain monsters and decided this was the logical spot to build his shop and capture the magic needed to transport his shop from location to location as needed to peddle his monsterous wears.
One potential theory could be that it was dug out as a mass grave, or a way to get rid of monster so they wouldn't respawn.
You know it’s going to be a good theory when the Lost Woods OST is on
omg yes
It's so great for mysterious vibes, right?
which lost woods are you referring to, there are at least 3 different lost woods themes in the series
@@crunchysalmonsno need to be pedantic my dude.
one of the best tracks :)
1:58 Yes! Thank you! Seeing the stems makes it feel like an abyss (I fear the ocean and deep water), but worse of all is anything in the water. And a bunch of flowers under the water with nothing visible beneath freaks me out. Even in Starfield, I get freaked out by the giant pool of water in that one city, even though I can see the bottom. Played too many games with sharks or piranhas. and such in the water
Subnatica effect
I also would have seen a connection between both Because of the flowers, but I think it is not divinity or something that connects both lakes, but it rather is Revival.
I mean what we can see at both lakes is a Horse God that can Reanimate Horses and an underground Cave and a Chasm which have tons of undead Monsters.
Simple answer: A continent sized titan with a skull for a face managed to faceplant so hard it left a lake behind in his image.
This is what I love about these two games, the designers of these locations put in these strange locations to get us thinking, guessing, theorizing,
Talking
Same here. Even after finishing both games, I still enjoy walking around the overworld and seeing the many mysterious places these two games have.
The flowers remind me of the ones in and around Wood Fall. Gives me a poison feel.
I thought the same! Like. Those ones would eat you if you too!
I'm sorry, I'm writing through a translator. Maybe it has to do with the temple of Water from Skyward Sword? Underneath it, too, was a gloomy dungeon filled with dead bokoblins and poisonous water. Then these flowers could have been lotuses from the upper floors of the temple, which were soaked in poison from the lower floors and mutated.
Those strange flowers could also be related to the afterlife. as we know the horse God brings back dead horses. However her flower is also the same shade of purple or at least a Similar color.... Perhaps it is those flowers that are bringing back the undead creatures there.
Makes one wonder if there's a correlation between all the Poes roaming around the Depths and the many flowers decorating it's many locations...
I think the horse god is a dude... despite the feminine-looking name.. Malanya I think?
@@chrislevack405 Apparently in Japan Malania is referred to as a _she_ and in fact there's evidence which suggests she is none other than _Malon_ from Ocarina of Time after she passed away and was transformed into a horse deity to forever watch over horses just as she loved doing in her human life. Zelda channel NintendoBlackCrisis did a video 3 years ago addressing the evidence found in the japanese version of Breath of the Wild which suggests "Malania" to be a female deity based on the pronouns used in the original japanese version.
@@javiervasquez625 Zelda wiki says he's male. Also... wouldn't it be Malonya if it was in reference to Malon? I think it's a real loose theory you're going off of.
@@chrislevack405 The Zelda wiki is following what the _english_ translation of the game says which is nothing new as they did the same thing with Twilight Princess by saying the 6 Sages tutored Zelda when in fact it was *Auru* who tutored her according to the original japanese version of the game.
According to the japanese version of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Wild Malanya is female, is named _Malon_ and might in fact be the same character reincarnated as a horse godess to forever watch over the horses of Hyrule. All this information is addressed in NintendoBlackCrisis's video _"Breath of the Wild: The Horse God MYSTERY - Finally Solved?"_ You can watch it here:
th-cam.com/video/ILI3F0P1KpE/w-d-xo.htmlsi=uEisPRx-mqV1EggJ
Hey Hyrule Gamer, there is another spot with deep water and foliage in it, it used to The Ridgelands Tower location, the one with the electric wizzrobes.
Skull lake is a location that has ALWAYS made me feel kinda uneasy. The absurdly deep water, the flowers giving you a visual indicator of just HOW deep it is, the bone colored rock, the bizarre and almost unnatural formation of the land and rocks in the area, *(not even including the weirdly perfect skull formation, the outcropping around the place is also a bit bizarre for where its located. Plus the weird, tall spire on one eye that now has a cave in it just seems so unlikely to naturally form, let alone it forming right next to a chasm into a place in the depths cut off from literally everywhere else down there)* , the graveyards worth of bones under the lake TWICE over, the fact that there's diurnal stal enemies under the lake which arent normally possible. Everything about skull lake is just... Weird. Off.
That weirdness is also enforced to an extent by the fact that you first meet kilton, one of the more bizarre characters in the game (who seemingly avoids drawing attention to himself in the first game) here.
I'd say the flowers are a symbol of either death, or life after death, or the circle of life and death - given their only other location is the Horse God, which is also either a location of life, death, or life after death - given he resurrects horses when they die. The stal creatures down there are also resurrected, which makes it even more likely.
I’m replaying TOTK and noticed something odd.
The texture of bone-like rock appears in an additional location in this game, besides Skull Lake, the Breach of Demise, and the Lake of the Horse God.
It’s found in the underground tunnel leading down to where Ganon was sealed away by King Rauru and the other Sages. Where Link and Zelda come across him in the game’s opening.
If the Breach of Demise was where the Demon Army rose, then perhaps skull lake is where the Demon Army fell. The submerged flowers serve as a barrier between the realms of the living and the dead, which is why the Horse God also has them in their lake. Since he deals in the business of resurrecting horses, the flowers act as a barrier to prevent unwanted souls from escaping whenever the Horse God plucks a horse from the afterlife. The fact that a ton of Hylian soldier spirits exist down in the depths might suggest they were casualties of the final push to rid Hyrule of the Demon Army, and were unable to return to Hylia due to the entrances to the depths being sealed shut with the 'barrier flowers' that prevent the passage of spirits.
As for the 'Goddess of the Depths', they were overthrown and destroyed when the Demon Army came through, from either below the Depths, or through a hole in the spirit realm. The Depths perhaps served as the old route to the afterlife, before the Demon army came to destroy everything. But with the Goddess of the Depths broken, there were no one to lead lost souls to the afterlife, hence why they need the hero's help. Who know what the future consequences will be, now that the Depths and the Surface are linked...
2:25 damn Hyrule Gamer lore drop I guess 😳
2:25 proof
I love those “bone-like” rocks, they seem to have the same sort of erosion on them as things decayed by gloom
The Master Sword, decayed weapons, even a lot of rock beneath Hyrule Castle is eroded in the same way, especially in the prologue tunnels
I think the connection between the two is that they’re both related to death. The Horse God has the power to resuscitate your horse and Skull Lake maybe contains some of the power of resuscitation but is corrupted by malice/gloom so the monsters don’t really fully come back from the dead, unlike the horses.
For me, the flowers THEMSELVES dont make me uneasy... Its the fact that they give the lake a LOT of depth that you dont have in other bodies of water. Though, more importantly, seeing the depth of the pool and the flowers prompted me to drop something in like a metal item in botw (the experiment was tried again in TOTK, but with just the biggest sinking thing i could find).
What bothers me is... They never stopped sinking from what i could see. Meaning the lake is REALLY deep. Heck, maybe even bottomless. Granted, the flowers make that admittedly unlikely, but its a fantasy world. Any number of things could be going on. And its never outright DIS-proven that it's bottomless, as even with the depths, the generation rule of bodies of water being reflected by solid walls means you still can't be sure, as theres no way to know if that wall is hollow or not if theres no way inside.
And the fact that flowers grew down there also implies that the lake is fully capable of supporting life... Which makes it possible that those flowers arent the only thing IN the lake.
In summary: flowers dont scare me, but they made me realize how absurdly deep skull lake is, and THAT did scare me.
TotK is so good, I don't care what anybody says. I'm knee deep in my third 100% playthrough and still just in awe, constantly.
I have so much fun with TOTK. Hopefully, as time goes on, it will get the love and appreciation it deserves like The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword.
Totk is amazing and who cares about the other people who think otherwise
Happy you are one of the few creating good videos on TOTK consistently!
Looking at polls and stuff, I think most enjoy TotK. It's just a very loud, vocal minority who don't. TotK was great, I liked it more than BotW and any other Zelda game TBH
Same! I love this game to death. I'm in my third playthrough as well, not a 100% but a redo of the story experience done a little out of order. And I definitely plan on restarting it for a fourth playthrough when I'm done.
A little late to this video, but I thought I'd drop in a little paranormal investigator info (stay with me lol)
Lots of investigators believe that areas with large amounts of limestone will amp up paranormal activity ten-fold. Maybe the "bone" rock is a signal for heavy "paranormal/spiritual" activity in a zelda location? The resurrecting of horses and reanimated bones, as others have said. Also, for the breach of demise, that's a reference to where the literal DEMON King emerged.
Just tossing out my thoughts
Honestly I would have looked into a real life equivalent of the flower and if it's made any appearances in other Zelda games
I believe that the skull lake was a dumping ground of remains,so many bones and skeletons like that, it definitely seems like some sort of ancient dumping ground
Maybe you're onto something!
Remember, Spectacle Rock keeps recurring in Zelda games, but it keeps moving around.
And the "Eyes" of Skull Lake kinda look like the "Spectacles" of Spectacle Rock, no?
What if this was actually a recurring geologic formation that just occurs when there's big Malice/Gloom bursts/Eruptions/Events? (That perhaps are able to more easily channel negative energy?)
I can think of two directly tied to Gloom/Ganon off the top of my head, with the Original LoZ's Final Dungeon, and the second being OoT.
And the second being Death Mountain in OoT. Those weird clouds around the mountain before you beat the Fire Temple I strongly feel have been retconned into being Malice or Gloom.
We do see that big ol flume under the castle in TotK, so perhaps after time erodes that away, it will leave behind a couple identifiable columns?
Spectacle Rock actually appears in Breath of the Wild tho. It's where Vah Naboris sits
The boney location being the start of Demise's breach is gonna be my headcanon now. I love the idea that it left a unhealable "scar" in the earth
I thought skull lake would have been a really good dungeon idea.
I would have made it into a mini dungeon with the reward been some extra Lore regarding the origin of the Depths and a cool armor from ancient Zonai times. I feel it was a wasted opportunity for Nintendo not to capitalize on all the cool content the Depths could (and should) have offered.
@@javiervasquez625yes! There’s already a bunch of cool things in the Depths but I’d love to have a full-on spooky dungeon in there with a good helping of lore (does the Spirit Temple count?)
@@indigostudio2245 Lol true on the "Spirit Temple" which felt more like an open hall with "stuff" you had to do rather than a full fledged dungeon with puzzles and a boss to fight near the end. I just wish Nintendo had capitalized on the open environments the Depths provided to create truly creative and inmersive dungeons for players to explore in-depth. So much wasted potential...
yo fr fr
I love the idea of it Skull Lake being connected to Demise and his Demon/Monster Army or possibly a different Demon like Bellum?
i think that the house of bones could possibly just some ancient zonai ritual or burial site, and that the flowers are for whichever reason a semi-magical species (like silent princesses) attracted by or associated with death.
with that many dead bodies over the centuries, it would make sense for these flowers to bloom in the water. and after all, the horse god is also associated with death and rebirth.
Skull lake? The spot where Biggoron grave is. I mean it is the location where you find the biggoron sword in the depths. Shoot, it's a good spot. [edit] Been thinking about the Breach Demise is actually below in the depths. Why? Well, OoT took place before the great flood and that was WW setup the story of the Kokiri of spread across the entire sea to regrow the lands of Hyrule. In doing that the old, old Hyrule buried in the depths and that is with TP and SS all happening before the flood. Ero true breach is down underground.
Ah I never thought about the depths being the condemned, flooded Hyrule. That's kinda cool
this video was interesting just to learn how many people find the big flowers unsettling! ive always thought they were super tranquil and beautiful, so this is an interesting new perspective to learn of lol.
Maybe it has a connection to the ancient cistern, undead enemies and flowers which are very common in the ancient cistern dungeon
The flowers remind me of those left at a cemetery. As if to say the lake itself wants us to remember and honor remember something here. Maybe that is why its so full of the twisted bones of monsters, because the have forgotten something lost to time.
God this video is gonna give me the willies. Can’t help it with dead things. Great vid regardless.
I am curious if the giant Death Mountain cave bones are Dodongo bones.
It's definitely deep within us to simply revolt against the idea of dead things around us, but it's richly fascinating at the same time. There's a books series I like involving reanimated corpses, and there's one point where a cryptic letter is sent back to base from a maritime rescue mission documenting their travels in chronological order - it includes the lines, "...dead things in the woods... dead things in the water." Those lines haunt me because even having read like 4,500 pages of this fictional world, I still have no more context than you do having read this comment. Human bodies are definitely in play. Other than that, I'm horrifyingly baffled.
And personally, my money is on the Death Mountain bones being a gargantuan dragon with a body like Volvagia or the Wilds-era chums.
Thanks!
This reminds me of how excited I was to visit the Breach of Demise in TotK after discovering the depths for the first time. I wasn't expecting anything crazy, but I was hoping there would at least be some sort of reference under it. Perhaps the Sword of Demise in a chest? But yeah as far as I could tell there wasn't anything all that interesting, same as on the surface
The flowers remind me of the flower in the swamp temple from Majora's mask. That's why it scares me. Last time I touched one in human form, it scared the heck out of me
The flowers, and Skull Lake in general, kind of give me Ancient Cistern vibes.
Perhaps the flowers are a reference to the 1918 short story “The Spider’s Thread” by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, as was the aesthetic and layout of the Ancient Cistern in Skyward Sword.
I believe that the flowers and the rocks around the horse god in botw and in skull lake is related to death/rebirth since the horse god Malanya can bring back ur horses if they have died.
I think they just wanted a cool looking lake
honestly? I just love the flowers, I wish I could dive down and swim amongst them. I was so disappointed that we didn't get underwater swimming in TOTK...
Hey man. Just wanted to express that your zelda content is some of my fav on TH-cam. And appreciate the ideas and such you bring to the subject. Keep going man! You make people's days brighter and that's priceless 👍
Thanks, I really appreciate that!
My theory on the flowers relates to reanimation of the dead. Skull lake being the only place stall enemies are animate at all times and the horse god being able to bring back lost horses
More evidence to the breath-of-the-wild-comes-right-after-skyward-sword-and-before-the-minish-cap theory!!!!
I'm a firm believer in that theory, I even came up with it independently and didn't post it online, it was just headcanon, but then other people were talking about the same idea
it really makes a lot of sense
I thought Skull Lake was just a reference to the final dungeon entrance from The Legend of Zelda (the original first game on the NES).
The final dungeon was Spectacle Rock. Skull Lake is near Death Mountain, so they could be related.
It reminds me of that one temple from skyward sword that has an underground part thats filled with poisonous water and undead bokoblins
Bones and Skull Rocks are strange in Zelda, lots of questions, and Ganondorf's Evil Roots look Muscle like. Everything is a strange Riddle.
I think the flowers being so unsettling stems from some form of submegalophobia (big things under the water) or thalassophobia (the depths)
I was thinking that maybe due to the shape, flowers, and closeness to the Fountain of Strength, ancient Hylians worshipped here, doing ritualistic sacrifices, and explaining all the bones. If it's sacred, that also explains the Yiga Shrine
Maybe the flowers in botw at skull lake are from the water temple in Skyward sword which is the same temple the demon/gloom bokoblins came from climbing up the rope
2:58 MY GOD IVE NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT THAT
Edit: probably because at day and night there are stal enemies in the depths
I've always had interest in anything to do with Demise and his invasion because cmon man
the route of all evil in the franchise is bound to be an interesting topic
I always hope that someday a geologist would take a swing at BotW/totk to come up with likely explanations of land formations in hyrule.😊
the innuendos in this vid is amazing
LETS GO HE HEARTED MY COMMENT
What if it was an ancient dumping ground for dead monsters, like the bone eaters well in inuyasha? Hyruleans from generations ago saw a skull shaped lake and decided to throw dead monsters in it. It might also explain the flowers, the monster extract appears to have a similar color, the monster remains becoming fertilizer could have caused mutations in the waters plant life.
day 95 of mentioning that on 6/6/2023 hyrule gamer made a video where, at 43.46, he spent 12 seconds simping about the ancient gerudo soldiers
*shudders* ... that's the day Diablo 4 came out... *vomits*
Seems like a cauldera, crater of what used to be a volcano
The update seems to make the eye a lavatube
I still feel like we need a ToTK DLC that explains in detail what happened to the Sheikah technology, what happened to the Zonai, what happened to Skyloft, you would think there would be some ruins at least, what happened to the Loftwings you’d think there would be documented recordings and skeletal remains, more about the Great Skeletons, the remaining residents of Skyloft, did they evolve into the Zonai (thats my theory), more about different Hyrulean and other external species, such as the Loftwings, Zonai, Twiligh, those moles in SS (I think they were called Molekins), and the other species in SS (cant remember their names
In short I DONT NEED SLEEP I NEED ANSWERS (only enough sleep to stay alive, not hallucinate, or doze off)
it's obviously a reference to zelda: faces of evil
i think the flowers have something to do with death considering that they are not only at skull lake but also at the horse god and the horse god can bring horses back from the dead. This means that maybe these flowers have to do with death or even house the souls of the dead.
Doesn't help that the Horse God moved his flower from near the Highland Stable to around Bloodleaf Lake in the time between Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.
Surprised you didn’t notice/mention the second skull in the land with pools of water for eyes just north east of skull lake. It’s much less clean looking visually, it almost looks like someone showed a 5 year old a picture of skull lake and got them to draw it. But it’s unmistakeably a skull too, to me in has Boko skull vibes particularly, but most interestingly it’s only a stones throw away from the actual skull lake
In my mind, the Breach of Demise is where he burst forth, but Skull Lake is the pit when Link seals him in Skyward Sword
I feel like there is less like "speculation" posts from TOTK than I was expecting, your channel has done some thankfully but I was waiting for my subbed channels to post a lot more after the game came out and it didn't really happen.
1:40
That's thalassophobia
which i do have xD
Does anyone else see a similarity in that skull on the ground in comparison to the head of that unknown figure statue that stands down under in the underground? 👀
the sheer amount of bones around thos whole area makes me think skull lake could have been a graveyard pit like place for the monsters.
Hyrule Gamer is bringing Halloween spoopy sp00ky vibes in the month of March. +respect Love this theory.
with how unnerving the flowers are, I still feel like its a missed opportunity to not put some kind of acquatic boss there.
its quite possible this location is a remenant of early development imo. some other story the devs wanted to tell but was cut from botw. perhaps a otherworldly dungeon location. (but thats pure specilation with no evidence)
It could be a reference to Skyward Sword's Ancient Cistern: Water-flowers with connection to the divine; dead things below; close by the spring of power which is a reference to Skyward Sword's Skyview Spring, which was also near the Ancient Cistern.
What if the Cistern broke down into skull lake?
A reference possibly, the location itself being the same doesn’t match up though, the ancient cistern is somewhere southeast from the middle of hyrule.
The bone enemies are alive at night and in caves they can’t survive in light
it could be a refrence to skull kid/maghoras mask the firce daity mask is from magorahs mask
Bro had me cracking up when he said “Bones that are dead. Like my social life”
He had me cackling at 'large bone like my.....'😅😅
As another person here in the comments said, there is a tie with the large flowers and reanimating the dead. The horse god, who in my head canon is the spirit of Malon, can resurrect dead horses. And skull lake as resurrected enemies. However you make a point that possibly its symbolic of the demons Demise led. But then, why are the flowers around the horse god? Is it possible that the horse god may be a demon as well? I say this because the recommended video after thia was about Bongo Bongo, the shadow temple boss from Oot... who has detached hands... like the horse god... why a demon would want to bring horses back from the dead, I don't know. Which I why I still lean towards the horse god being Malon. Twilight Princess already hinted at her spirit still around by adding her singing to the hyrule field night music, so its most likely she's still waiting for her knight from beyond the moon to come and take her away. Which is also why Epona's song plays around the horse god. This was probs too long winded for anyone to read and I'm sorry 😅. If you did though, thanks. I'll shut up now.
I always wanted to swim under water between the flowers to see the deepness but we can't.
Idk why the flowers are creepy to
Bro could start a podcast series and I’d listen to it to relax cuz bro I love your voice (not just because of the accent)
🙏❤️
A possible theory is that since the horse god revives horses and the logo of death is a skull
The ancient flower appears in Skyward Sword. It has the same purple color. Maybe the flower survived trough out the millenia ?
Ah yes. An HG video to make my lazy sunday...that much lazier.
Btw, I'm playing through TP for the first time and arbiters grounds is hands down my favorite dungeon
Hope you enjoy it!
@HyruleGamer absolutely am! Hey dude, I'm not sure if you've seen it or not but there's this creator here on TH-cam who made a FANTASTIC story on the hero of time using a lot of theory and lore from the community. Whenever you have a moment check out the entire series. Theres 5 episodes so far. Here's the link to the first one. Maybe shine a spotlight on him? Dude, you'll freaking love it.
th-cam.com/video/eKDh-UZXMEU/w-d-xo.htmlsi=6tmRqoA0TqEtakT4
@HyruleGamer definitely am! You made me go out and get it lol! Hey dude, so there's a short series based on the hero of time called "hero's purpose"....check it out. Maybe give the creator a little spotlight? Not sure if you've given it a watch but I HIGHLY suggest you do. 5 episodes. About 20-40 minutes each
I think they missed an opportunity of reviewing the "torture chambers below Kakariko" concept using the depths. Akkala House Of Bones is too far from Kakariko to be related
If the flowers in the water and the bone like stone formations are connected to demons, what does that mean for Malanya?
my theory is that those flowers are connected to death or bringing back from the dead. What is the purpose of the horse god in BotW? It's to bring your horses... back from the dead. At skull lake, there are those same flowers. There are creatures that refuse to die. That's just a theory. A game theory!
well its not much but since the fierce diety mask is found there what if its the original location of majora's mask, anything that follows the theme of fallen fourth sister of the tetra-force or Majora's mask or death is often surrounded by the color purple, just like the 3 sisters din, farore, and nayru are with red, blue, and green respectively, as hylia is yellow or white, or and this is my second theory about it, its where Majora ( whome ive dubbed the 4th sisters name) was sealed and during the battle to seal her away rather than kill her the fierce diety perished or badly wounded and whos pain was sealed to a mask before his soul reincarnated into link, this would explain where demise got his power from it was stolen from the majora herself do with this what you will its half baked theory of mine and i have so much more.
Them bones them bones them dry bones.... shake them bones about 🎶
Im the only one that thinks that the rock pilar looks similar to the one below hirule castle? My teory is that a previous demon king surged from there and the flowers are a remain of the gloom. (srry for bad english)
I think the next location should be the deep dark skeletens
I'm absolutely down this theory, and I don't think it's that far of a stretch.
skull lake could also be a graveyard
I don't like how you say you're making stuff up, but it is a fact that the devs were IMPLYING something by having them always alive there. How come people can do it with darksouls bit discredit with zelda. That's that content that's actually interesting
I think we're reading too much into Botw and Totk. Nintendo didn't care about a timeline they only made one because people kept asking for it if anything maybe skyward sword is connected to the botw games but I don't believe that seeing as the triforce is missing in the botw games in a physical form and we have secret stones taking their place. My opinion is that this is a Steel Ball Run type situation a new universe seperate from what came before with call backs to previous works being just fan service like the Deku tree is a new Deku tree, the temple of time doesn't match up because it's not the same the Zonai being essentially the same as the Interlopers and picori in that they are ancient races highly skilled with technology and magic etc.
I think the flowers and rocks are revivel
day 101 of mentioning that on 6/6/2023 hyrule gamer made a video where, at 43.46, he spent 12 seconds simping about the ancient gerudo soldiers
thank you
At maybe 5 minutes in, take a shot for every time he says demise.
Did you say "drop a cheeky wee like, down below. That would be Hylian appreciated"?
If so great Pun. If not. Feel free to use it.
Edit.
Just put captions on. And you did.
day 115 of mentioning that on 6/6/2023 hyrule gamer made a video where, at 43.46, he spent 12 seconds simping about the ancient gerudo soldiers